1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cooking appliance, and more particularly, to a unique bracket assembly for economically holding the parts of the cooking appliance to each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In electric cooking appliances it has been common practice to construct the appliance with a metal cooking vessel positioned within an outer insulating housing. Conventionally, sheathed electric heating elements and thermostat controls for the appliance are connected to the underside of the cooking vessel.
As shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,641 to George E. Tilp, an insulating housing B includes a generally cylindrical side wall 3 and a bottom wall. A plurality of supporting legs 10 are provided on a metal plate which is brazed to the bottom of the cooking vessel. The legs 10 include angularly disposed feet 11 which are connected to the bottom wall of the insulated housing by means of bolts 12. The upper portion of the cooking vessel includes flange 1 providing a downwardly facing circular groove or channel 2 to receive the upper edge of the insulating housing B.
In a prior application of Fred E. Baker, Ser. No. 698,962, filed June 23, 1976, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, there is disclosed a glass or ceramic cooking vessel of the type commonly employed in slow cookers. A bail 28 preferably made of spring steel is provided for biasing a lower annular surface 36 of an inner ceramic or glass cooking vessel downwardly into sealing contact with the upper edge of the housing so as to prevent foodstuffs, water and the like from entering the space between the outer housing and the inner glass or ceramic cooking vessel.
This invention is concerned with such cooking appliances, and more particularly, to an arrangement in which a unique bracket is connected to a thermostat assembly and the bottom of a cooking vessel for urging an upper lip or flange portion of an inner cooking vessel downwardly into contact with an upper rim of an insulated housing for securely connecting the parts of the appliance to each other.
Accordingly, it is a particular object of my invention to provide an improved cooking appliance in which the parts are securely and reliably held to each other so as to prevent foodstuffs, water and the like from entering the space between an inner cooking vessel and an outer insulated housing.
It is another object of my invention to provide an improved cooking appliance which may be readily formed and constructed of relatively few parts which may be easily manufactured and readily connected to each other.